Posts that inspiring an elegant life

Rituals ~ Do you have any?

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I was inspired to write this post after reading Shannon Ables blog post called Why Not…Establish Weekend Rituals?   


Are you a routine kind of person? Do you have rituals? I know I do and I get easily frustrated when someone tries to break it. I am learning that things happen and that sometimes you can’t control everything. It is during those moments that you learn to “go with the flow”.



























photo credit Alex Papachristidis Instagram account


I have some rituals that I do every day or every weekend and I make sure that I enjoy my weekly rituals.

1) During the week I stop by my favorite restaurant called Panera and pick up their pumpkin muffie for breakfast.


And oh my goodness is it soft and delicious!


2) I always make sure that the current books that I am reading are packed in my bags. 


Read my blog post here about this book.

I recently heard about this book from another author. 
So far it has been wonderful! I downloaded it to my Kindle. 




3) I have a cup of hot water, lemon, and honey along with my fruit fusion water every morning. See my blog post here about that.
My cup and china at home.

4) I cook our favorite meal which is roasted chicken about twice a week. We do love it!
Our meal at home.

5) I love to watch certain Youtube channels every morning while exercising. One channel I love to watch and follow is Sharon Santoni. I love this recent video she posted about the French cheeseboard. It was absolutely wonderful and if you watch it below pay attention to the beautiful decor of the home. The french live so beautifully to me….

6) Last and certainly not least is my daily devotionals. Yes, I am a Christian. Sorry I know that is not popular but I should be free to say that. I love to read my bible and other devotionals. My faith is very important and it keeps me in order. Trust me, I would not be searching so diligently for the “elegance” that I love so much without God. 
















photo credit Nicolas Fairford Instagram account

I hope you enjoyed this post and share some of your rituals. It is always interesting to see how other women live. 






Date Night ~ Autumn in Italy Cooking Class

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My husband and I are trying to incorporate different activities into our lives. The children are growing up and we are now in a time where we really don’t need a sitter anymore.

So we recently decided to take a cooking class at Sur La Table. We have one location here in our city and we booked a date night called “Autumn in Italy”. It was wonderful I tell you!

We had such a good time!!!

We showed up for our class at 6:30 and they had the room ready to go. There were stations for each couple and you shared a station with another couple.
Both couples share the tasks. So we put on our aprons, washed our hands and started having fun!

Our station

The first thing that we made was prosciutto wrapped dates stuffed with gorgonzola. It was delish and very simple. We opened the dates down the middle and stuffed them with gorgonzola cheese crumbs. After that we wrapped them in strips of proscuitto. Put them on cocktail toothpicks and placed them in the oven for 5-7 minutes at 425 degrees. The dates were sweet and the proscuitto gave that perfect amount of salt taste. Wonderful….
The next thing that we made was the Tuscan herb rub for our chicken breast.
First we salted our chicken and put finely chopped rosemary leaves, parsley, olive oil and toasted fennel seeds. 
The sauce was 3 tbls of unsalted butter, 1 large shallot, 1 large garlic clove minced, 1/2 of Chianti or red wine and 1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth. We mixed that all in a bowl and poured it into a skillet. We browned the chicken then put it in the oven a 425 degrees. 
Very tasty!!!

My husband cutting up the squash for the next dish which was winter squash risotto with walnut gremolato. 
This was my favorite!!!
The ingredients for this was:
So wonderful! I could not stop eating it!
The last item was dessert and it was called maple budino.
It was so creamy and delicious! Budino is an Italian word for custard or pudding. 
–Recipe for Budino-
-3 cups heavy cream
-1 1/2 cups milk
-1 large egg
-3 egg yolk
-5 tablespoons cornstarch
-1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
-1/1/8 cups brown sugar
-3/4 cup of maple syrup


After all the hard work it was time to enjoy our meal….

I had a wonderful time and we will be doing this again soon!!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Lamp Shopping at Hobby Lobby

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I was running a quick errand a few weekends ago and decided to stop in Hobby Lobby. It is a great store for home décor. I wanted to find some faux flowers for my office but didn’t see any that I wanted but I did see some great lamps.

I thought these were great. They are called the Cream flower on base lamps.
Very pretty!

Next is the white ceramic pineapple lamp. My favorite!
Gold Quatrefoil Metal Lamp
Very chic!
Gold & White Striped Square Lamp
Mediterranean Silver Tree Lamp
I hope you enjoyed my short little shopping trip. You never know what items you may find. I always seem to find great things when I am not trying.
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Thirty Chic Days ~ Being private at home

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I have shared on the blog how much I love to read! This summer I am reading two books. I always read two books at a time. It’s a habit I developed while I was in college. This summer I have decided to read Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy by Frances Mayes and Thirty Chic Days; Practical Inspiration for a Beautiful Life by Fiona Ferris.





photo credit Nicolas Fairford Instagram account

I really dove right into this book! It is an easy read and it is delightful! One section of the book that I found to be quite interesting was the part about “being private at home”. Here is what Fiona said, “When you are at home with your beloved and your family, create a little mystery around yourself. Close the door when you brush your teeth, don’t blabber on about every little thing you’re thinking of, and don’t ask your husband which shoes or jacket looks better. 

Instead, choose for yourself then make an entrance into the room, accepting a compliment with pleasure. It is sometimes easier to learn mystique from someone who doesn’t have any. Do you want to be that person that others learn from? It’s different with family and close friends, but even then you will want to keep your marriage relationship details private. It is many men’s horror that their other half will blab embarrassing details to their friends or family about them.

I know of people who don’t tell family members private information because they know they will be unable to keep it to themselves. Remember, it’s not only that one person you are sharing with, but it’s whoever they might tell also. It is respectful of others to not spill their secrets, insecurities, or private happenings. 

A foolproof way of knowing if it’s okay to relay information about a person is- would I say this if the person was standing right next to me listening to the conversation as well? Or, would I send this email if the person I’m mentioning was reading it over my shoulder? I love this test because it works every time. 

Isn’t this wonderful? Not to say that most of us don’t know these “social rules” anyway but it is a reminder to be private. I wrote about “Keeping an Air of Mystery” earlier this year.

Keeping mystery at home is a wonderful thing. I believe that there are certain things that your kids should not see you do. In the evening when I am getting dressed for bed, I shut our bedroom door. I do not want my daughter to see my naked body! I think that is terrible. I have some friends and family who don’t mind but that is their business, not mine.

photo credit This is Glamorous Instagram account

Learning to be an “elegant bearing woman” is very hard these days but we must continue to press forward and learn how to be leaders in this area. I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you will pick up Thirty Chic Days. It is wonderful…..


(text via Fiona Harris)

Things I Savor in Life

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I love it when an author, designer or favorite blogger shares a “fav list”. Those are always so fun and interesting to read. You find out a lot about a person reading their “fav list”. I was inspired to do this list after reading Shannon Ables “Why Not… Savor Life?

Other lists that I enjoy are “Ways to Uncomplicate Your Life” and “100 Ways to Be Elegant” which has been an A Home for Elegance favorite (it has about 500 hits since 2014!).

Below is my “savor list”. I hope you enjoy it and that it inspires you to begin your list today.

1. Fresh flowers every week at home and at the office.

                Roses in our bedroom

2. A new bag


3. My daughter’s giggle.


4. My roasted chicken and red potatoes (dinner favorite)!

5. French bread


6. Polished nails


7. Kitten heels


My Jenn heels from Sole Society.:
My heels from Sole Society 



8. My piano lessons. I am practicing Bach at this moment.


9. The smell of floral perfumes.


10. My husband’s hair cut


11. Cooked salted broccoli




My Aerin Lauder perfume Lilac Blossom.:
My Aerin Lauder perfume Lilac Path



12. Louis Vuitton


13. A silk scarf


14. Psalm 90:17


15. Vintage earrings


16. Chinoiserie wallpaper


de Gournay Wallpaper ~ Aerin Lauder:

Aerin Lauder’s chinoiserie is so gorgeous!



17. A good conservation (life changing or revelations)


18. Beautiful china


19. An oriental rug


20. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12


summer in provence http://vickiarcher.com/2015/07/summer-in-st-remy/:





21. Vanilla ice cream with spanish peanuts 


22. Fresh water pearls (my blog entry about mine is here).


23. A glass of Risata moscato 


My glass at home



24. Weddings


25. Jennifer L. Scott’s books


26. The Bible


27. Instagram (my link is here).


28. My blog (but of course)


29. My husband in Ralph Lauren


30. Vintage Martha Stewart shows


31. Diana Krall music


Diana Krall...love this album!:
Gosh I love all of her cd’s!



32. The Fixer Upper- HGTV


33. New York City ( my visit to Rockefeller Center here).


34. Goodwill and consignment shopping


35. A BMW 535 (my dream car)


36. Chandeliers


A Home for Elegance: My Spectacular Visit to Restoration Hardware on my blog...:
Me at Restoration Hardware

37. Classic movies (my blog entry here about my favorites)


38. The Biltmore Estates (which I hope to be visiting soon)


39. Arabella Golby’s personal vlog to Florence 


40. Candles 





I hope you enjoyed my list! Of course I could continue and add more but I figured 40 was enough. If you have a “savor list” please post it below.

(photos via Pinterest and video via Youtube)


Why I Keep A Journal

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I heard someone say some years ago that the reason why they kept a journal was because they wanted to keep a record of God’s score and that resonated with me. So I started keeping a journal in 2005.

I have written down every hardship and victory that I have gone through since then. Through out the year I revisit them. I do this to remind myself that God has not forgotten me and that victory is on it’s way.

I have gone through every thing from job loss to family feud’s. From dealing with jealous hearted co-workers to a petty ex-wife. My husband and I have seen a lot but with every valley the Lord has delivered us.

So I share this with you to tell you, keep a record. Write down your hardships and write down your victories. So when you have that moment of defeat you can go back to your journal and read how the Lord gave you victory all those other times and it will help you to keep your faith.

I just recently went and picked up a new journal from Von Maur. They are now carrying the new Kate Spade collection. If you are a flower fanatic like me then you will enjoy this collection.

Kate Spade notebooks
As I said before, record your life. You won’t regret it. 
photo via Mrs. Shockley 

To Meditate On…

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My good friend Kim gave me this to read and I really wanted to share it:


“When I give you no special guidance, stay where you are. Concentrate on doing your everyday tasks in awareness of my presence with you. The Joy of my Presence will shine on you, as you do everything for Me. Thus you invite Me into every aspect of your life. Through collaborating with Me in all things, you allow My Life to merge with yours. This is the secret of not only joyful living but of victorious living. I designed you to depend on Me moment by moment, recognizing that apart from Me you can do nothing”. 










Photo by Sergey Mind on Unsplash
” Be thankful for quiet days, when nothing special seems to be happening. Instead of being bored by the lack of action, use times of routine to seek my Face. Although this is an invisible transaction, it speaks volumes in spiritual realms. Moreover, you are richly blessed when you walk trustingly with Me through the routines of your day”. 

~Jesus Calling